Salineville police wages to increase

SALINEVILLE — Part-time Salineville police officers may soon get a $1 per hour raise and the sewer system will soon be remapped.

On Monday night, council asked Law Director Andy Beech to draw up legislation to raise the wages of part-time police officers from $11 to $12 per hour. At the previous meeting in February, three police officers had resigned for other job offers or opportunities. At that point, council began discussing that it may be time to raise the salary.

One of the officers who resigned, Connor Bailey, was to have been done on Feb. 28, but Police Chief Matthew Devlin said Bailey is now interested in staying through March so he can finish the investigation in one case and close court cases in others. Council agreed to let him stay another month.

Additionally, Devlin said Christopher Kupec, who had worked for the village several years before, has now offered to come back and work some hours. Mayor Linda Adams noted Kupec did not leave on bad terms, and council agreed to hire him.

In another matter, council passed a contract with the Rural Community Assistance Program through the Ohio EPA (R-CAP), which is going to help the village with some sewer problems, including remapping the system. The cost will be for $800 a year, paid quarterly.

Councilman Buck Higgins asked if the village had not just had this done, and Councilman Brian Zaverl responded it was. However, he said the information the other map makers was given was incorrect. Now that the manhole covers are being removed and the system examined, Zaverl said, they are learning things are not where they were originally told.

The contract with R-CAP was a recommendation by the Board of Public Affairs, and the cost of the five-year contract will be coming from the BPA’s part of the village budget.

In other matters:

— Council discussed some street projects, such as concerns on Jefferson Street which need to be addressed. It was determined they should have a meeting of the Street and Safety Committee at 9 a.m., Monday, March 12, at the village garage. The committee will discuss some upcoming projects, finalize a list of streets for chip and seal this year, discuss the need for summer help which they could use as early as April 1 if the weather allows and work on the garage inventory, which has not been completed since 2015.

— Council also set a date for a Personnel and Policies Committee meeting for 10 a.m., March 23.

— Council passed legislation to begin the process with the county auditor’s office to place renewal levies for the cemetery and operating the street lights.

— The dates for the village clean up this year will be set for May 17 and 18. The village receives one free roll-off dumpster and agreed to get up to three more as needed for the two-day event.

— Daryl Ferguson, a former village resident, spoke during the public comment part of the meeting. He talked about what a nice town the village was, with industrial people and a good place to raise his family. He also talked about his involvement in the Boy Scouts in the area. But Ferguson also talked about he started a trailer park hoping to have a nice place for senior citizens, but has had nothing but trouble with it. Additionally, Ferguson offered to explain to council how the village can make hundreds of thousands of dollars selling water.